A place where I'll post up some thoughts and ideas - especially on literature in education, children's literature in general, poetry, reading, writing, teaching and thoughts on current affairs.

Sunday, 12 October 2014

No, Tristram, no

Three points re Tristram Hunt's speech on schools:

1. Hunt has announced plans for local school commissioners who would oversee all types of state-funded schools."

What is this? Who are these? Who appoints them? What do they do? Why are they better than having local councils? Why are they better than what would be my preference: local council governance with teacher, governor, parent and pupil representation?

2. He has talked up Singapore's education system. Singapore is a very different society, Tristram. The education systems we make, Tristram, are a mixture of being both a reflection of the kind of society we have and the kind of society that education makes. Simple question, Tristram: do you want to live in a society like Singapore?

3. Hunt has talked of the virtue of taking 'oaths'…what does the swearing of oaths do? Well, Tristram Hunt would know about oaths, because he's an MP. MPs swear oaths. So if oaths are a good idea, Tristram would know just how successful MP oath-swearing has been…over, let's say, the last twenty years…On a scale of one to ten, Tristram, how successful has MP oath-swearing been in giving us MPs who are not corrupt, venal and greedy?